Dinner's On The Table – The Personal Chef & Home Cooking Resource

Celery Soda is definitely an acquired taste. Though, not too difficult to acquire. I think the biggest obstacle is equating the stalk with the drink. We already use celery in our juicers creating health drinks made from a concoction of fruits and vegetables. So creating soda pop from celery shouldn’t be too great a leap of faith!

As far as I know, the only manufacturer of celery soda, spelled Cel-Ray, in the northeast United States is Dr. Brown’s. This has been my favorite for years. But, living in the Hudson Valley, I can only find it at limited locations. Stop and Shop happens to be one of them.

We’ve recently become owners and fans of the SodaStream soda maker. This home carbonating system is perfect for the everyday soda drinker who enjoys fresh soda without the hassle of buying, storing and returning bottles.

While SodaStream has a fantastic assortment of soda flavors, they don’t have Celery Soda. We’ve adapted Alton Brown’s Celery Soda recipe for newbies. We suggest you go with the lighter version here if you want to try some celery soda for yourself. If you want a full strength celery soda, please use 1 tablespoon of freshly ground celery seed. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 tablespoon freshly ground celery seed
• SodaStream Soda water

Directions

Place the sugar and the water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir to combine. Continue to stir frequently until all of the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the celery seed, cover and allow to steep for 1 hour. Strain using a fine mesh strainer into a heat-proof container. Place in the refrigerator, uncovered, until completely cool. Place in an airtight container in the refrigerator and store for up to 6 months.

To use, add 8.5 tablespoons of syrup to 1 liter SodaStream carbonated water. We like to use little plastic squirt bottles you can find at kitchen supply stores

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Mahi Mahi is without a doubt one of my favorite fish to eat. I was introduced to it on a trip to Aruba in 2002. The flesh is mild, white and firm and works with light to spicy seasonings. Even the pickiest fish eaters should enjoy Mahi Mahi. Here’s a photo of what a Mahi Mahi looks like right out of the ocean, followed by a really nice summer recipe.

SERVES 4

Serving Suggestion: A Mesculin Salad with a Light Vinaigrette and Cous Cous.

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     Sugar Snap Pea season is in full swing. If you have the opportunity to buy them fresh from a farm stand like Migliorelli’s in Red Hook or Rhinebeck, the Rhinebeck Farmer’s Market, Hyde Park Farmer’s Market or get the chance to pick your own, do so quick before you miss out. Otherwise, check you local grocery store. Find your local farm market in New York.

     If you don’t know what a sugar snap pea is, they look like snow peas, but they have full-size peas still inside and totally edible shell and all. You can usually find them alongside snow peas in your market. They also make a great snack to go along with baby carrots – just wash, trim the stem end and eat!

     They also make an awesome quick side dish, salad topper or main dish. Here are 4 ways to help make dinnertime fast and tasty! One idea leads to another and another and…

Sugar Snap Pea Side Dish (Step 1)

1 lb of sugar snap peas
1-2 medium size onions – sliced
3-6 garlic cloves – sliced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
(Optional) – Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for some heat

     Saute onions in olive oil for 1-2 minutes on medium heat in a wok or sautee pan. Add garlic and sugar snap peas. Continue sauteeing until the garlic is soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. You’re done. This side dish is extremely flavorful and easy to make.

But wait! Here’s another idea…

Sugar Snap Pea Salad Topper with Dressing

Ingredients from Step 1 and…
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

     Spoon the side dish above into a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard and 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil (Or use your Magic Bullet, blender or food processor instead of a whisk). Toss with the snap pea side dish and refrigerate for 10 minutes, just long enough to cool. Serve over your favorite salad greens.

But there’s more…

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     Every so often we get a craving for pancakes for dinner. This becomes breakfast for dinner as we have eggs or some kind of meat (sausage, bacon, ham or Canadian bacon) to go with them. Then comes the warm maple syrup or fruit preserves.

     But pancakes don’t require a sweet topping. Why not a savory pancake? With a savory topping and/or filling? Crepes can be savory. Blini filled with meat (thus blintzes) can be savory.

     So we set out to create a savory pancake. We adapted a recipe from the Joy Of Cooking for a cornmeal pancake to go along with a smoked baby clam cream sauce. Smoked baby clams, smoked baby mussels, or smoked scallops can be found in most grocery stores.

Savory Cornmeal Pancakes

1 1/4 Cups yellow cornmeal, prefer fine, stone ground
3/4 Cup all-purpose flour
1 3/4 Teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 Teaspoons salt
1/4 Teaspoon ground black pepper

1 2/3 Cups milk
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter or margarine, melted
2 Large eggs

Additions:
2 Tablespoons of finely chopped chives
3/4 cup of corn, drained

Whisk the dry ingredients (items 1-5) in one bowl, wet ingredients in another bowl (items 4-8). Pour wet ingredients on top of dry and whisk together until just combined. Batter will be thin. Stir in chives and corn.

You can make any size pancake that you wish. We prefer to make them about the size of a Hellman’s Mayonnaise jar lid (screw on lid, 32 oz jar) or standard coffee mug circumference. Cook until the top of each pancake has formed bubbles – once the bubbles have popped, flip. Cook until bottom is lightly browned.

This batch makes quite a few pancakes that can be frozen for later use. We recommend that you pre-heat your oven for 170-200 degrees to keep the pancakes warm while you finish cooking the rest.

Standard White Cream Sauce

2 Tablespoons of finely minced onion
1 Tablespoon of finely minced garlic (optional)
2 Tablespoons of butter, margarine or olive oil (or a mix)
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/4 Cups milk
Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

Salt and Pepper to taste

Sauté onions and garlic in melted butter/margarine/olive oil for a few minutes until translucent. Whisk in flour. Stir for 2-3 minutes to slightly brown the flour butter mixture (roux). Slowly stir in milk. Once incorporated, add nutmeg. Simmer lightly, stirring frequently for 6-8 minutes. Add 1 can of smoked baby clams, smoked baby mussels or smoked scallops. Simmer and stir for another 2-3 minutes for the flavors to blend. Add salt and pepper to taste.

     Serving ideas: Serve with a grilled steak and grilled asparagus

     Kosher Option: Simply use margarine, olive oil and non-dairy creamer in place of milk products if your serving with meat. And, of course, skip the shell fish and pick up some Kosher smoked fish like lox or trout!

     Vegetarian Option: Saute mushrooms instead of fish and use liquid smoke for the sauce. If you don’t have liquid smoke, sprinkle smoked salt on top of the sauce just before serving

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We went to the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck this past Sunday for Maple Weekend.  It was wonderful.  We got to stand in the evaporator and take in the maple scented air.  We sampled fresh maple syrup right out of the evaporator.  We took a walk through the grounds to see the tapped trees, and we had a yummy meal of pancakes, sausage and fresh maple syrup. 

There were many people purchasing honey and maple products from Remsberger Maple Farm and Apiary.  The question of the day is this…What do I do with the syrup and sugar now that I have a years worth?

There are a few really easy applications, such as top your ice cream or yogurt with maple syrup.  It’s delicious and when you use a good quality low fat unsweetened yogurt, you have control over what you’re eating.  Instead of a spoonful of sugar on your oatmeal, try maple syrup!  The next time you make an apple cobbler, replace some of the sugar in the topping with maple sugar. 

Here’s a nice way to incorporate maple into savory dishes, like salmon.

Maple Salmon on a Cedar Plank

Ingredients

4 4-6 ounce salmon filets (can be a whole filet or individual pieces)

Salt + pepper

1/4 cup real maple syrup

1 lemon, juice and zest

1/4 cup chopped parsely

At least one hour before you are ready to grill, soak your cedar planks in water.  This can be done in the morning for dinner tonight.  You need a good soaking inorder to get enough smoke to nicely flavor the fish.

Fire up your grill to 350-400. 

Combine maple syrup, lemon juice, some of the zest and parsley.  (Taste before adding all of the lemon, adjusting to your liking)

Place the cedar planks on the grill.  Close the grill for up to 2 minutes to allow the planks to start smoking.

Lay fish on planks, but be careful not to crowd the fish.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.  Brush some of the maple mixture on the fish. 

Cook with the cover closed for 15-18 minutes, until the fish flakes with a fork.  (The fish will be cooked through and will have a nice smokey flavor)

While the fish is cooking, put the maple mixture in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.  This will concentrate the flavors for a final glaze.

Using a clean brush, baste with the maple mixture before serving. 

Garnish with a wedge of lemon and more fresh parsley.

No problem if you don’t have a grill or just want to cook this in your oven.  Place the soaked cedar plank on a baking sheet.  Set the sheet in a 350 oven for up to 5 minutes to get the plank heating.   These are the only changes to the grill instructions. 

If you don’t want to use the cedar plank, just place the fish in a Pyrex container and bake the prepared fish for 15-18 minutes in a 350 oven.

If you like your fish rare rather than cooked through,  start checking the fish after 10 minutes. 

Note: Only use cedar that is sold for cooking.  Cedar from a lumber yard has been treated with chemicals.

Maple Weekend continues this weekend, March 28 and 29 at the Fairgrounds.

www.remsburgermaple.com/

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     If you do a search for a Creamy Pinto Bean Soup online you will find dozens of recipes. As we usually do, we found a recipe that sounded good and tested it out. By itself it was an excellent soup. But we wanted to make it for dinner and have it be satisfying as well as a well-rounded meal.  

     The soup is a delightful, creamy soup without any chunks as it’s pureed in the blender, a food processor, Magic Bullet or trusty hand-blender. What we did to maximize the meal-worthiness of the soup is add a topping. Just as Campbell’s Soup suggests that you can top their Tomato Soup with anything you want, you can do the same with this Creamy Pinto Bean Soup.

First we’ll start with the Soup:

2 cups sodium-free vegetable broth or bean stock (Use Beef Stock for a heartier taste to go with the topping)
1 cup water
2/3 cup chopped onion
3-4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 medium jalapeno pepper, chopped (size depending on how hot you like it), or a pinch of Cayenne.
3 cups cooked pinto beans (You can use 2 cans of pinto beans, drained)
1 1/2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped or use canned tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
3/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt (optional) 

1.  Pour stock in pot. On Medium heat, soften the onions, garlic and pepper in stock and water for 5-10 minutes. Prepare other ingredients.

2.  Add remaining ingredients except salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, mostly covered, 10-15 minutes.

3.  In 2 batches, puree the soup in a food processor until creamy. Add salt to taste, if desired.

4.  Return to pot and keep over low heat until ready to serve.

Now for the topping:

1/2 lb. Ground Beef
1/2 cup Diced Green and Red Peppers
1/2 cup Scallions, Diced or Onions
1/2 cup Canned Corn
1/2 cup Zucchini Squash or Fresh Tomatoes Diced
1/2 package of Taco Seasoning or make your own – or use Penzey’s Rojo Taco Seasoning (Our Favorite) 
 (If you prefer to use the whole package of taco seasoning just double the recipe and have leftovers!)

1.  Prepare the Beef according to seasoning packet.
2.  Add remaining ingredients and cook until the vegetables are the desired softness.

     Optional Ingredients: Sour Cream, Guacamole, Lime Juice, Chopped Cilantro Leaves, Cotija Cheese (Mexican Cheese like Romano) or Shredded Monterrey Jack or Cheddar.

     Serve the soup in large shallow serving soup bowls. Spoon 1/2 cup or desired amount of topping in the middle of the soup. It will sink so pile it up. Top this with Sour Cream or Guacamole and a sprinkle of Cilantro. Then squeeze lime juice in the soup around the topping followed by a sprinkling of cheese. Serve with Nacho Chips or some Crusty Bread. Fantastic!!!

     Prep and cook time 30 minutes for soup/45 minutes overall. Serves 4-6.

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     Pizza is by far the number one food served for a Super Bowl Party. You could order out for it, but you may not know what everyone wants on their pizza. And it’s cold by the time you go for seconds. Here’s a way to create a pizza buffet without keeping the oven on all night long, yet folks can enjoy hot, delicious pizza their way!

     Grilled Pizza is quick and easy and you can get started making the shells tonight. First of all, very important. If you don’t have an interest in standing in the freezing cold in front of your barbecue grill and you don’t have a stove top grill pan, you may want to go out and get one. They’re relatively inexpensive ($20-30) and very useful all year round.

     Then buy some pizza dough and toppings from your local megamart. Your going to make 8 individual pizzas out of each dough ball. So estimate how many your guests may eat and buy accordingly.

     When you get home let the dough rest at room temperature for 2 hours or until the dough rises and looks nice and fluffy from all the yeast activity. Spread some flour on your work surface and punch down your dough with your knuckles. Then form it back into a ball. Now take your pastry dough cutter, or a knife if you don’t have one, and quarter the dough and then half each of the quarters so you have 8 little dough balls.

     In the meantime, get your grill pan hot – use medium heat. Or start up your barbecue – on low for now. You can also spray some oil on the surface just before placing the dough.

     Spread a small amount of additional flour as needed on your work surface. You can either take a rolling pin and roll out each dough ball, or do it by hand to give it a more rustic look. If by hand, punch the dough down with your knuckles. Then grab an edge of the dough, lifting it off the surface. Place your fingers of both hands next to each other and lightly stretch apart. Don’t pull too hard or too far or you’ll put a hole in the dough. Gravity will be pulling and stretching the dough downward. Go around the dough at least once. You’re trying to make the dough into a rough circle but not too thin. Place back on the surface and spray cooking oil on one side of the dough. This side will be going down on the grill pan first.

     Take the dough by one edge, hands apart. You want to lay the dough’s bottom oiled edge onto the far side of the pan allowing it to "stick" so you can stretch the dough over as far as possible to the other side of the pan. Don’t worry, when the dough is cooked it won’t continue to stick to the surface. The pizza dough will cook fast, only a few minutes on each side. And you’ll have nice grill marks to show for it. Repeat with all your dough. You can wrap them in plastic and keep them at room temperature until the next day or put them in the fridge (but let them come back to room temperature before cooking because this way the toppings will cook faster and more evenly).

     On Super Bowl Sunday set up your pizza buffet line. The dough is already cooked so all you’re doing is making sure that the cheese melts and the toppings heat up. You can use your oven, broiler, toaster oven, specialized pizza counter cooker, frying pan or grill pan to reheat. If using a frying pan or grill pan, use a pot cover that doesn’t fit securely and allows air circulation, yet retains heat so the toppings heat through. A lower heat setting is best so you don’t burn the crust.

Important Note: Don’t put any raw foods on your dough – please cook them first!

 This works great for any party or sporting event (football, baseball, hockey, basketball, soccer).

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     Recipe testing is one of the most important – and really fun – things we do as Personal Chefs. You could say we’re food explorers. We scan through many different food magazines (Gourmet, Fine Cooking, Bon Appetit, Cooking Light, Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s Country), cookbooks, and Web sites (The Food Network, Recipezaar, Epicurious) always looking out for recipes that will expand our palate and what we can offer you.     

     When we find a recipe to offer you, or you make a specific request, we make absolutely certain that it meets our standards and your expectations. In addition to testing the dish to see how it tastes the same day we cook it, we also test recipes for the 2-4 days they may sit in your fridge and whether they freeze well for the week or so they may stay in your freezer.

     Of course you don’t have to eat your meals the same week we prepare them. Most dishes will survive quite well for 4-6 weeks in your freezer. Any longer and they may acquire freezer burn which will affect the flavors. They can still be eaten, however. This is why we date everything we make with its "born on date," to borrow the term from Budweiser, so you know exactly when the dish was prepared. 

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     It’s cold and snowy outside. The wind chill is giving your goose bumps, goose bumps. You CRAVE soup! Soups are some of the most wonderful dishes to enjoy. They’re delicious, filling, and usually inexpensive to make. But they are time consuming to make as well.

     So, in the modern age we reach for a can of Progresso’s or Campbell’s. But they don’t always have the flavors you want and you may not have the right flavor in your pantry. Here is a quick solution for creating fantastic soup in only a few minutes using chicken broth you may already have waiting for you in your pantry when you don’t have the time and we haven’t cooked for you yet:

Spicy Chipotle Chicken Soup

16 oz of Chicken Broth or use Bouillon and Water (follow package directions)
1/2 – 3/4 cup of Vegetables and/or Beans
1/2 cup Cooked Chicken (optional)
1/4 cup Cooked Rice or 1/2 cup Uncooked Broken Angel Hair Pasta
1 tablespoon Chopped Cilantro (optional)
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Chipotle Powder (Can substitute Ancho or Chili Powder)
Salt and Black Pepper to taste (be careful that you taste before adding salt)

     Bring broth just to a boil in a sauce pan, turn down to a simmer. Break the pasta into 1 inch or smaller pieces. Add in all the ingredients except Cilantro.  Heat through or until pasta is soft. Add half the cilantro and cook for 1 minute. Add a dollop of sour cream (optional) or crumble in some tortilla chips and garnish with remaining cilantro. Serves 4-6. For another twist, sauté 1/4 cup of onion and 3 chopped garlic cloves before adding broth to the pan.

     If you read my Improv In The Kitchen posts you’ve noticed I like to play around with spices and make my own recipes. Frozen vegetables and canned beans are always in my freezer and pantry. You can use any combination of veggies to beans here. I had a Mexican frozen vegetable blend that had broccoli, carrots, beans, green beans and peppers in it. You can use corn and black beans or any other vegetable you have on hand. I actually used a packet of Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup as the base when I first tested this recipe out. You can use any brand chicken broth (College Inn, Swanson’s, Trader Joe’s, Wolfgang Puck) or even your own.

For Vegetarians: Substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth and firm tofu for chicken. Or simply add more beans.

Greek Chicken Florentine Soup

16 oz Chicken Broth or use Bouillon and Water (follow package directions)
3/4 cup Chopped Spinach
1/2 cup Cooked Chicken (optional)
1/4 cup Cooked Rice or 1/2 cup Uncooked Broken Angel Hair Pasta
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground marjoram or 1/2 teaspoon marjoram leaves
1 or 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (adjust to your tastes)
Feta Cheese, crumbled
Black Pepper and Salt to taste

     Add broth to sauce pan. Stir in oregano, marjoram and garlic powder and bring just to a boil, turn down to a simmer. Break the pasta into 1 inch or smaller pieces. Add in all the ingredients except Lemon Juice and Feta Cheese. Heat through or until pasta is soft. Add lemon juice and stir just before serving. Crumble feta on top when serving.

     For Vegetarians: Substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth and firm tofu or cannellini beans for chicken.     

     These soups are perfect for a quick dinner or taken to school or work for lunch the next day. Please note: Dinner’s On The Table, when cooking for clients, makes all soups from scratch. 
 

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     Both Jill and I were snow bound, sick bunnies last night. The first time in years we hadn’t spent New Year’s Eve with friends. And we found ourselves without a store-bought onion soup mix to make a dip with. (Shutter to think of it!)

     So, I hit the pantry. We keep brown gravy mix on hand when we get lazy and don’t want to make gravy from scratch for ourselves, check. We have dehydrated onion flakes on hand for many uses, particularly when making tuna salad. Why? Because you get all the delicious onion flavor without the strong onion taste that can overwhelm the salad.  Check. A little fresh cracked pepper, check. And my secret ingredient – mustard oil. Just a drop. It adds a cool little bite and an unusually interesting flavor.

     You don’t need any extra salt because the brown gravy mix has it already.

16 oz Sour Cream
3 Tablespoons Onion flakes, Dehydrated
1 Tablespoon Brown Gravy Mix (Or Powdered Vegetable Bouillon if vegetarian)
Pepper to Taste
1 Teaspoon Mustard Oil (optional)

     Always taste the recipe. If you feel you want more brown gravy mix, add a teaspoon, mix and taste. If you think it needs more, repeat. If you want to explore, look for other ingredients in your spice cabinet. Cajun? Dry Mustard?Chili Powder? Have fun with it. Now grab your chips and veggies and your set!

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We all eat frozen veggies. Sometimes it’s because the vegetable we want is out of season and sometimes it’s to save time. (Hey, we Personal Chefs eat frozen veggies too!)

Steamed, baked, stir-fried, microwaved- no matter how we reheat them – we’re always looking for ways to make them seem not quite so, well, frozen. Especially when the vegetable is most often the last thought of "Oh, Yeah!" Some of us grab for the butter or liquid cheese-food stuff to liven up the dish.

Here’s a quick easy tip to perk up your side dish.

If you have the time to make your own pesto, by all means go for it. A handful of fresh basil, a couple of cloves of garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, a handful of nuts (pine, hazel, pistachio all work well) and a sprinkling of hard cheese like Romano or Parmesan (optional). Place the basil, garlic and nuts in the blender or food processor and give it a whirl to start the chopping process. Now, with the pouring lid open, drizzle in olive oil until it forms a paste. Keep adding oil until you are happy with the consistency. Now add in a pinch of salt, a few grinds of pepper and some cheese. Taste it. Add more salt, pepper or cheese to fit your taste buds.

You can use your pesto right away, or you can grab an ice cube tray and freeze individual portions to use when you need it. Just pop them out when they are frozen and store in a freezer bag in the freezer.

Back to the veggies! Stir in some fresh or frozen pesto toward the end of the cooking cycle and you have a cool twist that is much healthier than using butter or margarine. Mangia!

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My husband and I are on a hummus kick.  It's one of the healthiest dips out there.  What could be bad about chick peas, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and tahini?  Add some roasted garlic, olives, roasted red peppers or pine nuts and it's even better.  There are so many things you can do with hummus. 

Making it is easy.  If you have a blender or a Magic Bullet, now is the time to break them in if you haven’t used them lately.  The easiest way to make a batch is to drain and rinse a can of chick peas.  Put the chick peas into the blender with a few teaspoons of tahini, the juice of half a lemon, a few teaspoons of olive oil, a few cloves of garlic, a bit of cumin and add enough water to almost cover the chick peas.  Then blend them until you have a nice smooth paste.  Taste it to see if you have enough tahini, lemon juice, olive oil and to see if you need salt.  You can add just about anything to the blender for additional flavor.  Once you like the flavor, pour it onto a plate and stir it with the back of a spoon to make a groove.  Sprinkle your toppings, additional chick peas, pine nuts, roasted red peppers, carmelized onions, sun dried tomatoes, spices, you get the idea, then drizzle with really good olive oil.  It’s now ready to devour.  (If you don’t have the 5 minutes it takes to make a basic batch of hummus, Cedars is good, Sabra is great, but yours will be the best ever!)

The possibilities are endless as to how to eat hummus.  You can scoop it up with fresh pita, baked pita chips, tortilla chips, baby carrots, sliced veggies, a spoon,  your fingers.  Just don’t double dip!  You can make a sandwich by placing lettuce, tomato, cucumber and whatever other veggies you have on hand into a pita pocket.  Spoon some hummus in and enjoy.  If you have any leftover, spread it on bread instead of mayo for a roast beef or turkey sandwich.  I haven’t tried it for breakfast yet, but that veggie hummus sandwich sure sounds good.

We haven’t tried brushing our teeth with it, but the Zohan seems to like it.  (If you haven’t seen Don’t Mess With The Zohan with Adam Sandler, check it out.  He does some really strange things with hummus.) 

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Wow! Adams Fairacre Farms in Kingston, NY has expanded their smoked fish offerings. And we’re happy campers because of it.

Aside from additional options of salmon, cod, eel, mackerel and other fin fish, Adams now has smoked scallops, smoked shrimp, smoked mussels and a mix of all three. These are all sold in vacuum packages that can be popped into the freezer for later…or taken home and greedily consumed as dinner that night.

Jill and I immediately knew what we were making. A local restaurant called Kaycey’s, that went out of business a few years ago, had offered a smoked seafood alfredo over fettuccine as an entrée. We missed this dish and have made it at home using canned smoked scallops and shrimp. It tasted good, but a fresher fish option would have been better.

So, we planned the meal as a smoked shrimp and scallop alfredo with mushrooms accompanied by a spicy grilled catfish and green beans (from our garden) with caramelized onions. Absolutely awesome. We also made the alfredo much healthier by using a combination of skim milk and evaporated milk.

Many of the dishes we make for ourselves don’t include a recipe. We’ll post it as soon as we write one down! In the meantime, don’t forget to ask for any of these three dishes as part of your next cookdate. We promise you won’t have any leftovers.

Adams Fairacre Farms is one of the many local Ulster County Grocery Stores where we shop for ingredients for our clients’ meals. Their fish is so fresh we watched the fish manager preparing fresh halibut steaks out of a whole halibut.

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How many of us can’t remember the last time we bought spices?

Go to your spice cabinet, open up a few jars and do a blind sniff test.  Chances are, more than a few people out there won’t be able to tell the oregano from the ground nutmeg. (If you can avoid it, never ever use ground nutmeg.  It loses flavor the instant it’s ground.  Get yourself a nice whole nutmeg and grate just what you need each time.  It should last a good long time and the last serving will have as much flavor as the first serving!)When you use fresh dried herbs and spices, you get far more flavor using less.  (You might actually be able to use just what the recipe calls for)  It’s also easier to add good flavor with less salt when your spices do their job.

The best advise on purchasing spices is to purchase only what you plan on using in a year.  Then label it with the date of purchase.  When you notice a year has passed, give it a good sniff.  If it still has a good aroma, continue using it.  If it smells more like sawdust than what the label says, pitch and replace it.  The exceptions to this rule are spices that are in their whole form.  Peppercorns, star anise, salt, cloves and nutmeg to name a few. 

Choose your spices carefully.  There are many good brands out there.  My favorite is Penzeys.  They aren’t available in grocery stores though.  My husband and I received a gift box a number of years ago and the spices were so fresh and bold that when we took a trip which brought us in the vicinity of one of their stores, we had to make a detour.  The place smells amazing!  Everything they sell is available for sniffing.  They have three stores that are driving distance for us, but since we try not to drive too far, we usually opt for mail order.  If you want to check them out, the next time you take the train to NYC, check out their shop in Grand Central Terminal.  It’s much smaller than most of their stores, but you’ll get a good idea of what they have.  Also, check out their web site www.penzeys.com

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We were grocery shopping in Adams Fairacre Farm (www.adamsfarms.com) last week, wondering if they might have fiddleheads, and to my surprise, they had MORELS!!!!  I’ve never seen these fresh, only dried.  Not having a clue what I was going to do with them, I bought a half pound of these beauties. 

When we got home, I went straight to my trusty computer to search for recipes.  I found many that were basically breaded and fried.  Some were just dusted with flour, some had an egg wash, neither thrilled me.  I put them in my Tupperware FridgeSmart container in the fridge and almost forgot they were there.  A few days later, we grilled up a lamb roast for dinner.  After finishing dinner that night, I remembered the morels.  That’s when I decided to make a Morel Sauce to go with the leftover lamb.  I sauted an onion with garlic and added the sliced morels.  I let them cook until they had a little browning.  I added 2 tablespoons of flour to make a roux, then added a splash of Madiera and some low sodium beef stock (canned broth works great).  I let it thicken a bit before adding slices of lamb.  I let the lamb simmer while finishing the garlic fanned potatoes. 

Dinner that night was GREAT! 

I Can’t wait for the leftovers.

Side note…Adams has fiddleheads! 

www.adamsfarms.com

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How do you eat your Hummus? That wonderful, creamy mixture of smashed chickpeas, sesame tahini, olive oil, herbs and spices? Most folks eat it like a dip with flat bread or pita, crackers or vegetables. Here’s a twist. The next time you reach for mustard, catsup (ketchup) or mayonnaise – STOP! Look for your hummus instead. 

Yes, that’s right, hummus on your turkey breast, roast beef or even ham sandwich.  It’s healthier and tastier than just about any sandwich topper you can think up.

Healthy? It has less than 1/3 of the fat in regular mayonnaise and a tad less than low fat mayo. Mustard and ketchup can’t hold a spoon to the nutritional value either. And did I mention tasty? Think of all the flavor variations! Kalamata olive, roasted red pepper, garlic, caramelized onion, roasted pine nut, extra spicy and many others that you can dream up on your own.

As a matter of fact, hummus has matured in recent years here in the North East. Grocery stores now carry numerous brands, flavors and styles to suit your tastes. Hummus isn’t that little container of overly vinegared (preserved) mush it once was (unless, of course, you like it that way). It’s smooth, creamy and tastes oh so fresh.

And if you’re adventurous, easy to make as well. Here’s a simple hummus recipe that can be adjusted with any flavors you wish. And you can even substitute ground chickpea flour for canned in a pinch. See After Recipe.

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